Decor: Out of vinyl denial

The truth is, this pooh-poohed material bears little resemblance to its 1970s predecessor, and it looks fabulous in cottages

Vinyl has come a long way, baby. Get the look of oak and 25 years of guaranteed durability and practicality with Luxury Vinyl Tile.

Photograph by: Virginia Macdonald
, National Post

When we think of vinyl, the popular flooring material of the late '70s, we think of messy glue or the peel-and-stick variety. At least I did, until Laura Fowler, one of the talented designers I work with on Summer Home on HGTV proposed using vinyl tile in one of our cottage makeovers. We were dealing with a non-winterized cottage, so hardwood was out of the question. According to Craig Pinarello of Stradwicks Carpet One Flooring and Home, "When there is no heat throughout the year in a home, wood can shrink, gap, crack or split." Mr. Pinarello does point out, that some people get lucky and don't have a problem. But when you're paying between $4 and $6 per square foot for hardwood, you don't want to roll the flooring dice. If you're wondering about engineered hardwood, it also needs humidity to last.

Vinyl, on the other hand, has come a long way, baby. In fact, many luxury vinyl tiles (LVTs) are more expensive than hardwood for many reasons. The faux bois graphics of '70s vinyl, for example, weren't great. Think faux-wood '70s wall panelling. These days, the graphics have become so good that it's hard to see the differences between LVT and hardwood. Check out the Karndean Designflooring (karndeancanada.com) to see LVT that looks identical to wood.

When it comes to installation, "even though LVTs are more expensive, the labour for the installation cost much less" Mr. Pinarello says. But the biggest plus is that vinyl tile comes in a click format like laminate floors, meaning no glue is required. This is great news for DIYers who want to avoid rented nail guns and the headaches involved with installing hardwood.

In terms of practically, LVTs are ideal for winterized and year-round cottages. There were major issues related to humidity and vinyl flooring of the past. In cottages with moisture problems, the glue required to adhere the vinyl to the subfloor would stick permanently, making it impossible to remove down the road. Or, the glue would dry completely and the vinyl would lift from the floor. You'll know what I'm talking about if your home currently has old sheet vinyl that's bubbling in places or old vinyl tiles that simply won't stick. With today's LVTs, you don't have to worry at all about water damage. Conversely, if you drip water on your hardwood floor when you're walking in from the beach, you have to wipe it up right way. With LVTs you can mop up spills later.

I have to admit, I was nervous the first time we installed LVT into a summer home. I've never been a fan of laminates and luxury click-into-place vinyl tile sounded like a complete misnomer. But I was shocked at how closely the LVT looked to hardwood; plus, it felt great underfoot. Another advantage of LVT is that it comes in so many different patterns, sizes and styles. In one cottage where we didn't paint the cedar, installing a wood floor would have made the space feel like a wooden big sauna bath. The 24x24-inch LVT tile we chose looked like whitewashed wood, and was the perfect foil to the cedar walls.

Oh yes, LVTs are guaranteed to last for 25 years without any warping or a single splinter.

If you are in the market for floors for your summer or city home, you should be shopping for flooring that you'll be happy with for 25 years. When it comes to our summer homes especially though, we don't want to make frequent decorating changes. And let's face it, we don't make frequent decorating changes in the country. We're too busy sunbathing (with SPF) or drinking beer (responsibly) on the dock.

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